Comparison

Mastodon vs Science Social

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mastodon

Connect with others on a decentralized social network. Share posts, images, and videos in chronological order without algorithms or ads. Discover new content and participate in conversations across the fediverse.

Highlights
  • Chronological feed
  • No algorithms or ads
  • Discover new users and topics
  • Post with images, videos, and polls
  • Create custom lists
  • Filter content
  • Cross-platform communication
Features
Read full description

Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what’s happening. Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight. This is the official iOS app for Mastodon. In our app, you can: EXPLORE ■ Discover new writers, journalists, artists, photographers, scientists and more ■ See what’s happening in the world READ ■ Keep up with people you care about in a chronological feed with no interruptions ■ Follow hashtags to keep up with specific topics in real time CREATE ■ Post to your followers or the whole world, with polls, high quality images and videos ■ Participate in interesting conversations with other people CURATE ■ Create lists of people to never miss a post ■ Filter words or phrases to control what you do and don’t want to see AND MORE! ■ Login and switch between multiple accounts ■ No spoilers! You can put your posts behind content warnings A POWERFUL PUBLISHING PLATFORM You no longer have to try and appease an opaque algorithm that decides if your friends are going to see what you posted. If they follow you, they’ll see it. If you publish it to the open web, it’s accessible on the open web. You can safely share links to Mastodon in the knowledge that anyone will be able to read them without logging in. Between threads, polls, high quality images, videos, audio, and content warnings, Mastodon offers plenty of ways to express yourself in a way that suits you. A POWERFUL READING PLATFORM We don’t need to show you ads, so we don’t need to keep you in our app. Mastodon has the richest selection of 3rd party apps and integrations so you can choose the experience that fits you best. Thanks to the chronological home feed, it’s easy to tell when you’ve caught up on all updates and can move on to something else. No need to worry that a misclick will ruin your recommendations forever. We don’t guess what you want to see, we let you control it. PROTOCOLS, NOT PLATFORMS Mastodon is not like a traditional social media platform, but is built on a decentralized protocol. You can sign up on our official server, or choose a 3rd party to host your data and moderate your experience. Thanks to the common protocol, no matter what you choose, you can communicate seamlessly with people on other Mastodon servers. But there’s more: With just one account, you can communicate with people from other fediverse platforms. Not happy with your choice? You can always switch to a different Mastodon server while taking your followers with you. For advanced users, you can even host your data on your own infrastructure, since Mastodon is open-source. NON-PROFIT IN NATURE Mastodon is a registered non-profit in the US and Germany. We are not motivated by extracting monetary value from the platform, but by what’s best for the platform. AS FEATURED IN: TIME, Forbes, Wired, The Guardian, CNN, The Verge, TechCrunch, Financial Times, Gizmodo, PCMAG.com, and more.

About

Science Social

Features
Read full description

Science.Social is a social media platform designed to cater to individuals with a keen interest in science. Built on a decentralized and privacy-focused ecosystem, Science.Social operates as a Fediverse instance powered by Misskey and utilizes the ActivityPub protocol, enabling seamless interaction across various interconnected platforms.Science.Social offers users the flexibility to tailor their experience according to their preferences, ranging from simple to advanced functionalities. Users can customize their interface using a multi-pane view, similar to X Pro (formerly known as TweetDeck), allowing them to manage multiple timelines simultaneously. These timelines can be curated from verified scientists across diverse fields, as well as local, social, and federated timelines, enhancing the breadth and depth of scientific discourse. The platform supports a variety of widgets designed to enhance user experience and productivity, including: - Digital and analog clocks - Post module for streamlined content creation - Sticky notes and custom buttons for personalized navigation - Calendar integration for event management - RSS reader and ticker for real-time updates - Photos and slideshow functionalities for visual content sharing - UNIX clock and online user indicators for community interaction Science.Social provides a unique feature that allows users to obtain roles corresponding to their field of expertise within the scientific community. These roles are displayed on user profiles, enhancing professional credibility and facilitating networking. Additionally, the platform offers directories of users and posts categorized by verified roles, fostering an organized and efficient way to discover and engage with industry experts. The "Antennas" feature empowers users to apply custom filters to incoming posts, enabling the creation of personalized feeds based on specific keywords. For instance, users can configure a feed to display all posts containing the keyword “Starship,” ensuring they remain informed on topics of interest. Science.Social enables users to connect with individuals across the Fediverse, facilitating communication with platforms such as Threads, Tumblr, Flipboard, Mastodon, WordPress, and more. This interconnected ecosystem promotes collaborative engagement and the dissemination of scientific knowledge across multiple networks. Reflecting its commitment to decentralization, Science.Social allows users to seamlessly transfer their profiles, posts, and followers from other social media platforms (including Mastodon, Tumblr, and Threads) to Science.Social. Additionally, users retain full control over their digital identity and are free to undock from Science.Social at any time, migrating to other instances within the decentralized network without losing their data or community connections.

Screenshots

Mastodon4 screens
Science Social3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Mastodon at monthly against Science Social's every 15 months. Science Social's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mastodon ships an update monthly, Science Social every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Mastodon versus Science Social: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMastodonScience Social
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (13K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings13K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 15 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size110 MB134 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperMastodon GmbHJoshua Habka

Bugs and requests

Mastodon

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Can't log in or create account
  • Keyboard freezes during editing
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching accounts
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add local and federated timelines
  • Improve search and discovery features
  • Implement edit and delete post functionality
  • Add support for animated GIFs
  • Provide better accessibility options

Science Social

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Mastodon

No in-app purchases

None

Science Social

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mastodon free?
Mastodon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Science Social free?
Science Social is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mastodon or Science Social have ads?
Neither Mastodon nor Science Social shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mastodon or Science Social?
Mastodon ships an update monthly, and Science Social every 15 months. Most recently, Mastodon was updated on October 31, 2026 and Science Social on October 11, 2026.

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